VES-3-14-CO:R:IT:C 112205 LLB
CATEGORY: Carriers
Mr. Henry Tomingas
Ocean Explorers
P.O. Box 111321
Anchorage, Alaska 99511
RE: Coastwise transportation; Merchandise; Passengers;
Oceanographic research; 46 U.S.C. App. 289 and 883
Dear Mr. Tomingas;
Reference is made to your facsimile transmission of April
13, 1992, in which you request that we rule upon the use of a
vessel in territorial waters for the purpose of conducting
oceanographic research activities.
FACTS:
It is proposed that the vessel BERING EXPLORER, which
apparently bears a State registration number and which is of
unknown qualification under the terms of the coastwise laws, be
utilized to conduct oceanographic research activities on the
Yukon River in Alaska. It is stated that the mission of the
vessel will involve mapping and survey operations.
ISSUE:
Whether oceanographic research in the form of survey and
mapping operations conducted within the territorial waters of the
United States is considered an engagement in the coastwise trade.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
The Act of June 19, 1886, as amended (24 Stat. 81; 46 U.S.C.
App. 289, sometimes called the coastwise passenger law),
provides that:
No foreign vessel shall transport passengers
between ports or places in the United States
either directly or by way of a foreign port,
under a penalty of $200 for each passenger so
transported and landed.
For your general information, we have consistently
interpreted this prohibition to apply to all vessels except
United States-built, owned, and properly documented vessels (see
46 U.S.C. 12106, 12110, 46 U.S.C. App. 883, and 19 C.F.R.
4.80). Further, a passenger is defined as “…any person carried
on a vessel who is not connected with the operation of such
vessel, her navigation, ownership, or business.” (See section
4.50(b), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 4.50(b)).
The coastwise law pertaining to the transportation of
merchandise, section 27 of the Act of June 5, 1920, as amended
(41 Stat. 999; 46 U.S.C. App. 883, often called the Jones Act),
provides that:
No merchandise shall be transported by water,
or by land and water, on penalty of forfeiture
of the merchandise (or a monetary amount up to
the value thereof as determined by the Secretary
of the Treasury, or the actual cost of the trans-
portation, whichever is greater, to be recovered
from any consignor, seller, owner, importer,
consignee, agent, or other person or persons
so transporting or causing said merchandise to be
transported), between points in the United
States…embraced within the coastwise laws,
either directly or via a foreign port, or for
any part of the transportation, in any other
vessel than a vessel built in and documented
under the laws of the United States and owned
by persons who are citizens of the United
States…
The coastwise laws generally apply to points in the
territorial sea, defined as the belt, three nautical miles wide,
seaward of the territorial sea baseline, and to points located in
the internal waters, landward of the territorial sea baseline, in
cases where the baseline and the coastline differ. These laws
have also been interpreted to apply to transportation between
points within a single harbor. Merchandise, as used in section
883, includes any article, including even materials of no value
(see the amendment to section 883 by the Act of June 7, 1988,
Pub. L. 100-329; 102 Stat. 588).
The Customs Service has long held that the use of a vessel
solely in the conduct of oceanographic research is not a use in
the coastwise trade. Accordingly, the use of a non-coastwise-
qualified vessel to conduct oceanographic research in the form of
survey and mapping operations within territorial waters,
including the transportation of persons and equipment/materials
necessary to complete that mission is not violative of the
coastwise laws (Ruling Letter 109344, July 6, 1988).
HOLDING:
A non-coastwise-qualified vessel may be used within the
territorial waters of the United States for purely oceanographic
research purposes without violating the coastwise laws.
Sincerely,
B. James Fritz
Chief